The Festive Experience Keeps Selling Out, Now Is The Time To Book
One of the highlights of London’s festive calendar, The Lost Estate’s iconic immersive festive experience, The Great Christmas Feast, returns for its ninth year. Having sold out for the last eight years in a row, it’s become something of a Christmas tradition in its own right, and tickets are, once again, going quickly.
In Partnership with The Lost Estate
Here’s the good news, though: November is still very much up for grabs, and it’s arguably the best time to go. Not only does it make for a brilliant way to kick off the festive season, with the experience opening on 6 November, but some November performances are priced up to £60 less than peak dates, with some of the best remaining availability across the run.
The legendary experience
Travel back in time to Victorian London on Christmas Eve in 1843, and step inside the home of Charles Dickens himself to witness the birth of a Christmas classic.
What unfolds over the evening is an award-winning one-man staging of ‘A Christmas Carol’, read by Dickens himself, threaded through with cinematic live music and accompanied by a three-course Victorian feast and properly Victorian drinks.
This is one of our favourite events of the Christmas period, and absolutely not to be missed out
Harriet, Head Of Partnerships
The Dickens family home is brought to life in a 5,000-square-foot former factory space transformed into a Victorian Marylebone. Intricately-crafted sets by Darling & Edge pull you into a richly atmospheric world before you’ve even sat down. Simon Pittman (Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre) returns as director, with David Alwyn reprising his much-loved role as Charles Dickens – both narrator and guide through the story – alongside alternate performances from Tama Phethian and Guy Woolf.
Composer Steffan Rees provides a striking original score, weaving old British carols into a cinematic soundscape, played live by a violinist, cellist and percussionist.
A feast to remember
Of course, part of what makes Christmas special is always the food, and The Great Christmas Feast doesn’t skimp on that front. This year, head chef Ben Sutcliffe (formerly of Hawksmoor and Temper Restaurants) has put together a menu inspired by Victorian London’s great food markets and the hospitality of Catherine Dickens, who published her own entertaining guide under the pen name Lady Maria Clutterbuck.
To start, choose a Victorian peppery pie inspired by Leadenhall Market, smoked salmon pikelet with salmon rillette, or dressed heirloom beets with whipped cheese.
I’m excited to finally experience the Great Christmas Feast! It’s been on my festive hit list since it launched and I’ve got tickets for one of the first run of shows in November. I’m treating my parents and am certain the immersive format will make for a really fun evening together.
Robyn, Managing Director
Then comes the main event: a confit Gressingham duck leg, rich and golden, served with spiced red cabbage, roasted winter vegetables, duck-fat roast potatoes, chestnut stuffing, bread sauce and a rich duck jus. There’s also a vegetarian option of a king oyster mushroom pithivier with shiitake, winter herbs and a rich jus. Pudding is a twice-pudded Christmas pudding (think: bread and butter pudding meets traditional Christmas pudding fruits and spices) served with warm brandy sauce.
The drinks
Through the night, you’ll be welcomed into Dickens’ own cellar, reimagined as a cocktail bar with a proper sense of history. The menu leans into drinks once beloved in Victorian parlours: the Smoking Bishop, famously name-checked in A Christmas Carol, and the elegant Pear Tree Cup, alongside newer creations like Rumfustian, a nod to a half-forgotten English tradition. Every drink takes its cue from Dickens’ fascination with punch recipes and the records of his famously well-stocked cellar.
The menu brims with drinks once beloved in Victorian parlours
How to get in before it sells out (again)
November performances are live and bookable now, with tickets starting from £128.10 for Classic Dining, £169.85 for Charlie’s Circle and £199.60 for Charlie’s Circle Royale. Some dates are priced up to £60 less than peak December performances, and availability is already moving. If you’ve got a date in mind, it’s worth booking while your preferred tickets are still there.
